Thursday, August 28, 2008

Shrooms!

The Boletes are early and there are loads. Every week I play tennis in Round Top with our friend Annie. Her court is on the mountain, in the woods, surrounded by wild blueberries, moss and bluestone slabs. A keen collector of shrooms, right before I arrived in the morning Annie gathered a basketful of boletes. She cooks them fresh or slices and dries them for soups in autumn and winter. After we played, she gave me a brown bag full of some beauties. We ate them that night, sauteed in Spanish olive oil with some smoked salt, Tarragon and Lemon Thyme. Yum!!


Sunday, August 24, 2008

August rain brings mushroom bounty.


Jeff may think his eye sight isn't as good as it used to be, but I don't know anyone else who can spot wild mushrooms on the fly while driving. Last year it was a scattering of Chanterelles under a dark canopy of evergreens and this year, at the far end of a field, a soccer sized Giant Puff Ball and its' anomalous kin. 
Check out their sculptural, alien forms!














Wednesday, August 13, 2008

d'Yquem & the best eggs in the valley...


On the way home yesterday, I stopped by Grazin' Angus Acres to pick out dinner. Ended up with an amazing Rib Eye, some eggs for the morning and some Angus breakfast sausage.
I made an Frittata for lunch, with some left-over Corn Succotash from the night before, Jalapeno Jack cheese, a little Prosciutto and lots of herbs from the garden. 
I gotta say, the eggs were some of the best I've had in a long time. They were soooo vibrant yellow and soooo ultra creamy! Wow! I think they rivaled the eggs from the chickens my parents raised when I was a kid.


To go with it, I made potato salad with the tasty breakfast sausage--really great flavor! It was unique and a little meatier than you might expect for a breakfast sausage, with a polite amount of spice.


Just as the Frittata went in the oven, Jeff came home with a bottle of d'Yquem sec. This really excited me, because I'm in love with beautiful white Bordeaux. And d'Yquem, known for their dessert wine--%100 semillon, well, need I say more? Ok, I will! Its complexity, perfumed aroma, honeyed, floral, wide, long finish, might have descended from the angels.



Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Corn!


Well, it's August, and it's all about corn. Deliciously sweet, juicy and lightly crunchy "Butter & Sugar" Holmquest Farm corn, that is! Our friend Jeffrey Elliot picked me up a package of Japanese spice for my birthday during his trip to Japan, while checking out the production of Henckels knife making, the company for which he works. So jealous of his trip, filled with the best Uni, brilliant chefs & bizarre seafood finds at the fish markets...  



Sweet butter and Japanese Spice, yes, oh so nice!





Left-overs. Oops, there's little to none!





Awesome!